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The Liverpool flop who is taking Serie A by storm

Alberto Aquilani was shipped out to Fiorentina last summer after failing to cement himself a place at Anfield. Now he is in sensational form back in his homeland. So should Liverpool have kept him?

Last summer Brendan Rodgers unceremoniously culled many names from the previous regimes he was inheriting at Liverpool Football Club. The exit door was left open for the likes of Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam and Joe Cole; all asked to start considering a future away from Anfield. Another member of this gang was Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

The midfielder was signed by Rafa Benitez for £20 million in 2009 but did so under something of a cloud. He was brought in as a replacement for Xabi Alonso despite his tendency to play further up the pitch not to mention an ongoing ankle problem that saw him waiting till November to make his Premier League debut.

In the end he only started nine Premier League games for the Merseyside club and spent two seasons out on loan with Juventus and AC Milan before completing a move to Fiorentina in August 2012.

The 28-year-old joins a club managed by a former team-mate in Vincenzo Montella and with most of his injury problems seemingly behind him he is now starting to show some of the ability that once saw Liverpool spend such an obscene amount of money on one player.

He has been in stunning form in recent weeks that has helped guide the Florence side up to sixth in the table; hot on the heels of Inter, Lazio and AC Milan above them.

This weekend Fiorentina ripped into Inter Milan 4-1 with former Manchester United starlet Adem Ljajic also starring along with Arsenal summer transfer target Stevan Jovetic.

His tenacious and creative display from the midfield proved too hot to handle for the Nerazzurri and his delightful back-heeled assist for Jovetic to score the third goal of the game was a true sight to behold:

So should Liverpool have given him a chance this season?

Instead they brought in Joe Allen who despite early promise has begun to waver in recent weeks and sure enough based on talent Aquilani is probably a better player than the Welshman.

But keeping him was not possible for Rodgers. His wages were astronomical and the club were very keen to trim the bill at Anfield. Considering his apparent fragility it may not have been wise to keep him on board with such expensive demands.

He also never seemed to adapt to the English game; although some may argue he never got the chance others would counter that he never took it - but perhaps he could have flourished under Rodgers if he persisted with him.

Regardless he certainly seems to have now got his career firmly back on track and while it is a shame we never got to see it in the Premier League this will not be the last you have heard of Alberto Aquilani.

Mathew Nash

I’m Mathew Nash a 27 year old graduate in Sports Studies and I have an insatiable love for sport. With a particularly keen interest for the madcap world of football I have always been known amongst friends as a beacon for bizarre sporting trivia and knowledge. My other passion is for writing and hopefully combining the two will create a superb and entertaining marriage that will create, divide and share opinion.Mathew is a correspondent for the NextGen Series, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga.